I've just installed Windows 7 Home premium 64bits on my computer.
It all started with a keylogger infection a few days ago....
I decided to format instead of messing around with antiviral-spyware software as I don't have anything that important on my PC.
So I buy windows 7 64bits and get all exited. Finally i'll be able to leave XP behind and welcome DX10 and 4GB of ram rather than 3.5Gb (limit of 32bit OSs).
So I happily put the shinny DVD in the DVD drive, get the installation window and remember I need to fetch that floppy with my raid drivers so the installer can detect the hard drives.
I put it in, doesn't work... duh... they are 32 bit drivers. So I make a floppy with the 64Bit drivers on another computer, try loading the drivers.... FAILURE. The win 7 installer doesn't see the drivers.
I try putting the drivers on a usb drive but formatting it kills it for unknown reasons.
I decide to terminate my raid. Then I noticed that my motherboard has SATA II ports. Read the manual and notice they support raid 1 & 0. I set up my 2 HDDs into raid 0 on the SATA II ports.
Load the drivers on the floppy and try loading them on the win 7 installer.... FAILURE. It still cant see them.
I decide to terminate my raid. This fixed the problem and windows 7 starts installing, but then.... "error code 0x80070570. Installation failed"
I look on the interwebs what all this fuss is about and it turns out many people are having this error and suggested unplugging all usb devices and any other non-critical hardware.
So I unplug all my usb cables, disable usb controller in setup and unplug my sound card.
Same error.
I then lookup my motherboard and check it's compatible with windows 7. Apparently it is. I notice a BIOS update. I was at version 2 and 6 was the latest... so i figured that was the error.
I download the bios update and record it on a floppy. I get to the "q-flash" bios update utility on my mobo but the program doesn't find the file on the floppy.
I decide to change the floppy for another I had lying around thinking it's the floppy drive that is wrong.
Still can't find the file.
I record it on 3 different floppies and it still can't find the file.
My only option now is to install it from within an OS which sucked because I had already formatted my drives along with my xp installation.
At this point I had been 9 hours trying to get windows 7 to install, I'm tired and I go to bed and have nightmares of bill gates faced computer cases.
Next day (today) I wake up covered up in sweat and install xp, the motherboard drivers and get it connected to the internet.
I flash the bios and it all goes smoooth as a well oiled machine. How refreshing! something actually worked. Yay!
I try installing windows 7 for the what feels like 1000th time.
Same error.
I search this error a bit more and someone said it might be due to bad memory.
I doubted this because I had bought some expensive corsair dominator airflow memory back in november when i updated my system and had been using XP for a few months without any issues. It wasn't even overclocked and had 3 fans right on top them memory sticks.
Either way I try it. I remove one memory stick. Try installing windows 7 and yet again... same error.
I try the other memory stick hoping that the memory isn't the problem because replacing it will mean my DSLR fund will be bankrupt.
I try installing windows 7 and It installs!! Yay!!
At this point I had Invested 12 hours to the installation of windows 7 64bits.
ABOUT TIME IT INSTALLED.
I thought.... maybe the memory isn't wrong... maybe it was just the installation process... so I put the "broken" stick back in and boot it.
It works. I try installing the display drivers (64bit version of course) and I then experienced my first Blue Screen Of Death on windows 7.
I take out the stick and start looking for the receipt to RMA it. Then I think... what if it's the problem is the motherboard's memory socket and not the memory?
On my motherboad I have 4 sockets but you can only use slot 1&2 or 3&4 if you want dual channel (something to do with my processor).
So I try 3 different combinations. First I put the "broken" stick where the working stick is and try that. Then I try both sticks on slots 1 and 2 (I used to have them on 3&4) and finally I tried putting them in slots 3&4.
All failed. Which means one of my memory sticks is broken.
It's weird.... I never noticed this on XP.
At this point I've forgotten how much time I've spent on operation "Install windows 7".
At least I haven't lost my sanity.... I think.
PS: Windows 7 looks awesome and it's behaving it self so far. It better.
